Jarvis Landry crashed a Super Bowl Zoom call with Odell Beckham Jr. Too bad he couldn't act as a pool reporter for Cleveland-area media members snubbed by the call moderator. (NFL)
Odell Beckham Jr. got what he wanted -- all eyes on him in a Super Bowl
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Just three answers are all we wanted from Odell Beckham Jr.
1. We know you never wanted to be in Cleveland, but you always seemed friendly with and respectful of Baker Mayfield. So where did it go wrong between the two of you?
2. Did the video that shamed and humiliated Mayfield, the one that your father purposely “liked” and retweeted, did it represent your own feelings?
3. Do Jarvis Landry and others in the Browns locker room share those feelings?
Those three answers would give us all some understanding of why you submarined the Browns’ quarterback and whether he can come back from this career-buckling episode.
Maybe you didn’t intend to turn the locker room against him – or portions of it – but that was the end result of your actions. You had to know that. And with it came a loss of confidence in him -- and in himself --and the collapse of a Browns season so filled with promise.
Why, Odell?
We knew it was always about you, your brand, your gaudy watches, your $500,000 Rolls Royce, your clown shoes, your targets, your reputation.
If you wanted out so badly, why couldn’t you do it the right way, behind the scenes, instead of blowing up the Browns’ season on social media through your dad? And if you weren’t behind the video that so incriminated Mayfield and chewed him up, why couldn’t you say so?
That’s all we wanted to ask – myself, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal, and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
We were all on the NFL-arranged Zoom call with you on Monday. Each of us signed on to the call well in advance of the scheduled start. Each of us had our digital hand raised to ask our questions.
And each of us was passed over.
Show of hands
A Rams employee from their PR staff supposedly moderated the Zoom call. The standard protocol is to take questions in the order the hands are raised.
For over 45 minutes, the moderator called on 23 people. Included was Michael Irvin of NFL Network; Landry, Beckham’s soul brother and former teammate; and Osi Umenyiora, a former teammate with the Giants.
At least one person was called on twice. Another identified himself and apologized for jumping on the Zoom call late. One wasn’t even a regular NFL credential-holder.
Thirty-two questions were asked. Each was laden with syrup and gushing with adoration and sympathy that Beckham has forever sought.
Not a single one referred to the selfish acts that Beckham and/or his father perpetrated in Cleveland that left the Browns’ quarterback groping to patch together a fractured locker room. Whatever happened to Mayfield’s left shoulder – since repaired by an outpatient procedure – contributed secondarily to the Browns’ season descent, in my opinion, to the divisiveness caused by Beckham’s social media blowup.
Landry, who has not spoken to media about what transpired with Beckham and Mayfield, was introduced as a surprise guest. Yes, Landry and Beckham are close friends since they were kids. Landry is understandably happy for Beckham.
“I ain’t got no questions but I want to say you’re deserving of this moment,” Landry said. “You’ve put countless hours to where you are today. I’ve witnessed it all firsthand. You have scars to show for where you are today. This is a dream that you are actually turning into reality. And I wanted to come on here and let you know I’m proud of you, bro.
“There’s so many people supporting you every step of the way, bro. Continue to use your light. Continue to be a blessing to others. And lastly, you spoke about tattoos and it’s so ironic because one of my favorite tattoos that you have, you’re actually living it. The tattoo says, ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not what he stands in moment of comfort and convenience but what he stands in the time of challenge and controversy.’ And you always stand up, brother. You always stand up. I love you. Go get that ring, Dawg.”
Emotionally touched, Beckham responded, “I always tell you this, bro … besides Pops, there’s no man whoever came into my life and has had the effect and impact that you’ve had to make me a better person, player, man, soon-to-be-father, brother, lover, like you’ve shown me the light, Dawg, and I love you so much. This moment is for us, bro.
“This is everything we ever talked about, Dawg. So I appreciate you coming on here. You know it’s nothing but love.”
A clown show
Beckham never wanted to be traded from the Giants to Cleveland. FOX insider Jay Glazer has reported that Beckham asked him immediately how he could maneuver his way out of Cleveland. Over three seasons with the Browns, he reportedly begged players and coaches on opposing teams, “Come get me.”
Beckham couldn’t control his arrival to Cleveland, but he surely orchestrated his exit. Multiple requests to be traded went unmet because he was untradeable following his ACL injury in the middle of 2020. So he became the ultimate squeaky wheel and got what he wanted – a well-executed release, aided by a $3 million give-back to the Browns, to situate himself in Los Angeles with the Rams.
And now in the Super Bowl.
“Through the ups, through the downs, through a lot of downs, I’ve just been resilient,” Beckham said. “I was watching the Super Bowl last year and [rehabbing] my ACL, and it wasn’t the best feeling in the world and I said, ‘I’m gonna play in that Super Bowl next year.’ In Los Angeles. I’m supposed to be playing in it.
"To be here, to not knowing I wasn’t going to be in Cleveland, that I was going to be on the Los Angeles Rams, I could have never seen it. The one thing I’ve learned about myself was how resilient I am and no matter how many times I fall down, I’m just going to continue to stand back up.”
The last question called on was posed by Emily of Access Hollywood.
“If we are casting the Rams in a movie, who is going to play [Matthew] Stafford and who will play you?”
Beckham giggled and grinned. He loved the question. That’s why he’s in LaLa Land.
